Health Updates 7 April 2011

Government Shutdown Will Not Affect Medicare or Medicaid: “Medicare and Medicaid, being entitlement programs, aren’t funded by the annual appropriations process (which is what Congress is currently fighting over), fall into the category of having other funding sources. So they would continue operating largely as usual in the event most of the rest of the government shuts down. Patients could still get care. And the folks who provide it (doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.) could submit bills and get paid”. (NPR)

FDA approves thyroid cancer drug: “Patients with metastatic medullary thyroid cancer who received the drug, vandetanib, went an additional six months without progression of disease compared to patients who received a sugar pill, according to a statement by the Food and Drug Administration”.(LA Times)

Learn to Cook to Reclaim Your Health: Registered dietitian Manual Villacorta writes that “it’s so easy to blame the food industry for our current obesity epidemic, but in reality, we must all take responsibility for our own actions…So where do we begin? Well, stop demanding quick, easy and processed foods and start cooking wholesome meals made from real foods…healthy eating takes effort, so commit to take charge of your diet”. (Huffington Post)

Just what the doctor ordered!

WHO warns of antibiotic-resistant superbug: “The World Health Organization (WHO) said the misuse and irrational use of antibiotics has undermined the global fight against tuberculosis and malaria, warning of a possible return to the days before the drugs were developed”. (Reuters)